That would seem like an absurd thing to do - to pay Disney for land that is not needed any more. Eminent domain does not make the transaction free of charge. It just forces the transaction to take place.
Yes - I walked through Tokyo Station daily through high school. The Shinkansen platforms there are slightly curved - to a point where you can't really see the front from the back, but not greatly curved. And you're right, the shorter, regional trains (and the subways you can't really see) also have more curved platforms.
Not having a SunRail transfer point on the way to Disney is really dumb for Disney. Many thousands of Orlando-area residents would LOVE to be able to get to Disney without having to drive the slow-rolling-disaster known as I-4. Being able to get to Disney from your local SunRail station would be a WONDERFUL thing.
I believe the potential station site is just north of whatis shown here between West Osceola Pkwy. and Epcot Center Dr. on the east side of I-4. There is a big amount of open land there that borders I-Drive.
As McIntyre2k7 points out there is available Disney land further south from Disney Springs and from where I believe the preferred new station site will be.
Indeed, as I mentioned the Sunrise Corridor thing was done by a group that did not include Disney. Disney did not get to make a choice yet about whether their land would be used or not. The original land offered became nonviable with the reroute, and Disney was not party to that decision. As for whether Disney will or will not be involved in deciding the site of the South I-Drive station remains to be seen. But that being part of the Sunshine Corridor now it is not just Disney and Brightline's decision to make. The Sunshine Corridor Consortium to use an informal name for the collective is the one that has to come to an agreement on it.
Yes, I see it as a struggle for power or control between Disney and the Universal/I-Drive interests. Having a station located west of I-4 near Disney does not benefit either Universal or I-Drive businesses as they would rightly see it as a stop for Disney. But I do understand why the local politicians did what they did in order to get their goal, which is an expanded SunRail system.
And of course the ability to execute the Sunsrise Plan depends crucially on bagging significant federal grants.
The location for the south I-Drive station site might be a feature, not a bug. Perhaps Brightline agreed to it based on the assumption that politically, it would be difficult to move forward with the original 417/Disney Springs plan? This way, Brightline can gain some favor if the Sunshine Corridor plan does not come about. Since I do not know the current state of relations between Disney and Brightline, especially after this new Sunshine Corridor proposal, locating the station east of I-4 south of World Center Drive would be the best outcome for all in the event the 417 route is back on the table.
Not anywhere on Disney property, but getting to the original site at Disney Springs is awkward, even ignoring the idea of having a terminal station in the middle of a trunk line.
It was never revealed exactly what site they were contemplating.
It would be wonderful if that collaboration to add Brightline would also expedite that expansion to 27 and perhaps some additional spots on the way to Tampa. That one stretch from Disney to 27 is now the absolute worst section of I-4. You could probably make a mint delivering pizzas by drones to some of the several hundred thousand drivers stranded in that stretch of I-4 every day.
Yeah. You are probably right. Though it seems that there are bigger political and corporate competitive forces at play, and Disney has withdrawn the offer of whatever they were offering.
Not likely over I-4. I-4 Beyond Ultimate plans are to elevate the main traffic lanes in that section, to make room for 4 managed lanes and 2 tracks of rail at ground level. I don't think they could squeeze in 2 more tracks and platforms.
That certainly appears to be the current plan ... station between I-4 and South International Drive.
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If I recall, the proposed speed reduction is not due to the new route using the Taft-Vineland corridor, but was made by the Right Rail group as a way to reduce the price of the new route by making changes to design parameters (mostly from the old FL HSR design that used Taft-Vineland at the 125mph or more speed) that were used by Brightline to estimate the $1B in additional expenses to build the Sunshine Corridor route compared to 417 (with equal max operating speeds for both routes). Right Rail came out with their engineering study showing the Taft-Vineland route would at most be $200M more than the 417 route.
From what I have read, FDOT hasn't programmed the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate West (the expansion near Disney and west to 27) project until 2025 or so. They have to apply for matching funds based on year of construction and it is not funded yet. It might also be the reason Brightline has consistently stated a construction start date of 2025 at the earliest for Tampa (or work west of Disney area). Brightline has to work around a huge project such as the Beyond the Ultimate West that basically uses the whole ROW for miles. There will be many elevated lanes along this stretch of I-4 as well for the Lexus Lanes as well as the mainline lanes as previously noted.
